In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 1

In Search Of Ellen Ankers4th Edition, March 2012

The few facts that I knew of my paternal grandmother had always intrigued me but it wasn’t until my mother became i! and subsequently passed away in 2008 that I started to look into my family history. Like a! amateur genealogists I have gaps and missing information about people but the story of my grandmother remains the most elusive and the one that I most want to know.

The Oral History

The brief story that my father had told me was that his father, a Scot by the name of James Kinloch Paul, travelled the country working as a demolitions expert blowing up old chimneys and factories. By 1931 he had arrived in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire where he met Ellen Ankers. They soon married and had a son, my father, and also named James Kinloch Paul. Soon after my father was born his mother Ellen died and father and son moved on. They ended up in Penarth near Cardiff where James Kinloch Paul (senior) stayed until his death in 1968 and my father lived until his death in February 2012. Two other stories come from that time; firstly that she was in some way connected with Mexico and secondly that her husband destroyed all the certificates and photographs after her death.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 2

Initial Research

I was quickly able to obtain copies of my father’s birth certificate, my grandparent’s marriage certificate and my grandmother’s death certificate. Taking these together I could establish that Ellen was born between 25th December 1910 and 17th July 1911, that on 24th December 1932 she was living at 1 Dixons Row, Apedale Road, Chesterton. She probably moved in with her husband James at his lodgings at 19 Apedale Road, Chesterton after they were married.

Her father’s name was Thomas Ankers, a coal hewer in the mines and he was already deceased at the time of the wedding on 24th December 1932. Ellen’s occupation was given as a roofing tile presser. However I could find no birth certificate for her, nor could I find a marriage certificate for her parents. Our search came to a stop.

Private Investigations

In my research I had noticed that the Staffordshire Records Research Service provide searches of records they hold for a small fee and given my lack of progress I decided to see if they could discover anything more. Malinda Law did the research and wrote back confirming our findings and was also unable to find the marriage certificate of a Thomas Ankers, nor the birth certificate of an Ellen Ankers.

She did however note one or two possible matches that could be followed up including:

“I then searched for any marriage of any Thomas Ankers in Staffordshire around 1911 and found only marriage of a Thomas which […] was of Thomas aged 20 to Martha Lilian Pessol in 1909 at Knutton. This took place on Dec 25 1909 and the father of Thomas was given as George

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 3

Ankers, a miner. This may be an error as George Ankers witnessed the marriage, and Thomas born in 1890 had a brother George, though his father was John”.

“I searched the General Register Office index of births between 1910 and 1912 inclusive and found no relevant birth recorded. As a(er June 1911 baptisms give the mothers maiden name I also searched as far as 1914 but found no child born to Ankers/Pessol”

I looked up the information but there was nothing that would allow a more positive identification. I also decided to contact the cemetery office at Newcastle-under-Lyme and ask if they had any burial details for Ellen Paul. Lynn Sharples at the cemetery office came back with a prompt reply. An Ellen Paul was buried in grave number C2 of Chesterton Cemetery, Loomer Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme on 20th July 1936. There was no grave marker. This was the correct name and three days after her death just two miles away.

Discover Staffordshire

In August 2008 my husband and I travelled up to Staffordshire, with a view to seeing Apedale Road where my grandparents had lived, visiting the local Apedale Heritage Museum and paying our respects to my grandmother. The visit to Apedale Road helped to give us a historical context to the area and we even met the current resident of 19 Apedale Road who had lived there since the 1950s and had also lived in Dixons Row before that. The house at 1 Dixons Row where my grandmother lived has long since gone, but it stood half way down Apedale Road on the corner immediately opposite 19 Apedale Road where my grandfather lived. It is easy to imagine him seeing a young lady walking up the slight hill to work each day and fancying his chances. At the top of the hill and the start of Apedale Road is a brick factory. The company has changed hands many times and was one of a number in the area so there is no certainty that she worked at this

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 4

particular site. Other people in the area worked in the mines. Apedale and the surrounding district was built and revolved around the businesses that powered the industrial revolution where coal, ironstone and clay were mined and manufactured into everything from bricks and tiles to fine porcelain. It was at the cemetery however that the next breakthrough occurred.

We stood and paid our respects before walking slowly back through the graveyard. It occurred to me that most of the graves had more than one person in so the next day we went back to the Cemetery Office in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Lynn Sharples, the lady that had responded to our enquiry by letter was there to help us and confirmed that there were two other people buried in the plot. The first person was a Thomas Pessol of 1 Dixons Row on 1st June 1926. The second person was a Sarah Ann Pessol of 1 Dixons Row on 8th March 1937. However I were cautioned that since the plot had not been purchased it was possible that unrelated people had been buried there.

The co-incidence is too much. Thomas Pessol and Sarah Ann Pessol lived at 1 Dixons Row, as would Ellen Ankers before her marriage in 1932. Thomas Pessol and Sarah Ann Pessol had a daughter called Martha Lillian Pessol. Thomas Ankers married a Martha Lillian Pessol in 1909. Ellen Ankers, born around 1911, was buried with Thomas Pessol who died before her and Sarah Ann Pessol who died after her. Therefore I believe that Ellen had been living with her grandmother at the time of her marriage in 1932 but where was her birth certificate?

Knowing the names of all the people in the plot we arranged for a marker to be placed there.

Meet The Pessol Family

The Pessol name starts to appear with John Pessol (b 1790s) and his son Thomas Pessol (b.1822, Shifnal, Staffordshire). Thomas Pessol had three wives Sarah Clay whom he married 5 May 1844 and bore him five children, Emma Clay whom he married on 25 Oct 1855 and bore him seven children and Eliza Ball whom he married on 8 Jan 1866 and bore him three children. I also believe that Sarah and Emma were sisters. In the 1851 census he is known as Pessall, but on the marriage certificates of 1855 and 1866 the name is given as Pessol. The 1871 census has the name Pepoll (but this looks like a mis-transcription) and by 1881 the entire family is using Pessol consistently. In total there are 41 births with the name Pessol between 1837 and 2005 that I am aware of. The family seems to stay around the Shropshire and Staffordshire area.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 5

Ancestral Hints

Throughout this process I have been using Ancestry.co.uk to maintain a copy of the family tree. Occasionally I would copy the family tree from Ancestry.co.uk into FamilyTreeMaker that uses Ancestry.com for searches. Now that I had added Martha Lillian Pessol I got a surprise hit from the hint feature that searches multiple sources of information for possible matches. The US Immigration passenger lists for those travelling from Liverpool to New York showed a Martha Lillian Ankers on the Mauritania sailing of 29 October 1910 and listing Mrs Pessol of High Street, Knutton, Staffordshire as her next of kin. It also says that her final destination was Brodhead, Colo. (Colorado). She appeared to be travelling alone. My assumption had to be that Thomas has probably travelled out before her because he was not listed as the next of kin at the point of departure and it would have been unusual for a woman to travel out first.

My initial search found nothing and then I searched findmypast.com and this produced a British Out-going passenger list for Thomas Ankers on the Carmania sailing from Liverpool to New York on 6 September 1910. His destination was also given as Brodhead, Colo. (Colorado) and he appeared to be travelling out with a James Blair, also of Chesterton and a miner. The matching US Immigration passenger list confirms these details but has a mis-spelling of the surname as ‘Aukers’ in the transcription.

Thomas Ankers left England with a friend, James Blair for a new life in Brodhead, Colo. (Colorado) on 6 September 1910, leaving behind a wife who was (assuming a normal pregnancy) between 3 and 32 weeks pregnant. She followed him to New York and presumably Brodhead, Colorado on the 29 October 1910.

The SS Carmania, the ship Thomas sailed on, would serve as the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Carmania between August 1914 and July 1916 and sank the German Merchant Cruiser SMS Cap Trafalgar before becoming a troop transport ship bringing Canadian soldiers to the western front.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 6

Brodhead, Colorado

A search of Google Maps revealed two Brodheads, a Brodhead, Wisconsin and a Brodhead Canyon, Colorado. This is near the township of Aguilar, Las Animas County in Colorado. There are census records for both 1910 and 1920 (where the Brodhead is spelt Broadhead). Unfortunately the census was taken early in 1910 and therefore before the Ankers had arrived in America. The 1920 census show no trace of them however I did find James Blair living with his mother in Aguilar, Colorado.

Brodhead is just 35 miles away from New Mexico. On the 6 January 1912 New Mexico became the 47th State; it had previously been a territory. Could this be the reference to Mexico that had come from my father? Further searches of Colorado and New Mexico have produced nothing. Once again my search has stalled.

Early Death

Thomas Ankers had passed away by the time of Ellen Ankers marriage in 1932. He was a miner, a dangerous profession now and then. Is it possible he died in a mining accident and that this prompted Martha Lilian to return to England? There were many mines both documented and undocumented. There are several lists of casualties in mining accidents but no Thomas Ankers that we have found between 1911 and 1936. Other possibilities are that he was a victim of the 1918 influenza epidemic or that he took part in the First World War. He could have returned to England to enlist or joined the US Army but again the available lists for the period do not have his name!

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 7

Brodhead Research

My contact with the Aguilar History website suggested a researcher by the name of Robert Ramero in Trinidad, Las Animas County, USA, not far from Brodhead. I contacted him and paid for a search of the Carnegie Library records. Robert found many interesting documents about the area but nothing that gave any indication of Thomas and Martha Lilian Ankers ever being in Brodhead.

He also mentioned just how close Ludlow, Co was. This mining town is famous for “The Ludlow Massacre”, and the violent deaths of 20 people, 11 of them children, during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at a Rockefeller owned mine in Ludlow, Colorado in the U.S. on April 20, 1914. These deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard. Two women, eleven children, six miners and union officials and one National Guardsman were killed. In response, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines, destroying property and engaging in several skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard.

More Shipping

On 25 October 2008 Ancestry.co.uk announced the availability of UK inbound passenger lists between 1878 and 1960. This covered the period I was interested in I immediately started searching. There was no Ellen Ankers. What next? I tried Ankers on its own but with a birth year between 1910 and 1912. This threw up just one record ‘Holin Ankers’ returned from the USA to the UK in 1916.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 8

Not expecting much I looked at the record and things immediately became more positive. Holin was a transcription error for Helen, a 4-year-old female who travelled as an unaccompanied minor on the SS California of the Anchor Line. It left New York for Glasgow via Liverpool and arrived on 15 Mar 1916. Helen was originally scheduled to disembark at Liverpool but for some reason this is crossed out and replaced by Glasgow. Her final destination on the manifest is given as Chesterton in Staffordshire and her citizenship is given as USA. The country of intended future permanent residence is given as England or USA.

Once again the coincidence is too much Helen or Ellen came home in 1916 as a child alone on a ship that crossed the Atlantic threatened by the German submarines that regularly destroyed shipping on the route. Why a child was put in this position can only be guessed at.

Helen went on to Glasgow – why? James Kinloch Paul’s family came from this area and they were to meet fifteen years later but was there already some family connection between the two areas that drew James Kinloch Paul to the Chesterton area in the first place?

This also means that Ellen Ankers date of birth was probably between 11 March 1911 and 17 July 1911 assuming a normal pregnancy and that the information on the records is correct.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 9

Dixons Row and Apedale Road

Two addresses have played an important part in this story. The first is 1 Dixon’s Row, Chesterton where Caleb Boote (b. 1889) lived with his wife Edith Boote (nee Pessol), who was the sister of Martha Lilian Ankers (nee Pessol). They moved there sometime between July 1914 and March 1922 and lived there until at least March 1936. Two of their three children, Ivan Thomas and Mavis, were born there. I also know that between at least Jun 1926 and March 1937 Edith’s parents Thomas Pessol and Sarah Ann (Annie) Pessol (nee Mould) lived with them. I have discovered that when Ellen Paul (nee Ankers) got married in December 1932 she gave 1 Dixon’s Row as her address and she listed it as the place of birth for her son James Kinloch Paul in October 1933.

Caleb Boote had an Aunt Mary who married William Clarke in 1878. At some point William and Mary emigrated to America and went to live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. In 1907 they travelled together with two of their six children (Howard and Ethel) from Liverpool to New York. However on that voyage they are already listed as US Citizens and it is likely that this is not the original emigration voyage but a visit home.

From the census I know that the Clarkes were living in Brook Street, Knutton, Staffordshire in 1881 but do not appear to be on the 1891 census. Could the Clarkes, living in the Philadelphia between 1911 and 1932, and if so have helped in the repatriation of Ellen? There are no obvious naturalization records for any Ankers, Boote or Pessol. There are too many Clarkes to be sure that it is the right one

19 Apedale Road is directly across the road from 1 Dixons Row and as already mentioned it was the home James Kinloch Paul when he married Ellen Ankers. It is unlikely that as a demolition journeyman he was anything more than a lodger at the house and it is unsurprising that Ellen went across the road to her grandmothers to give birth to their son.

Dixons Row has subsequently been demolished however the place where it was can still clearly be seen. 19 Apedale Road is still there, the current owner having lived in it since the 1950s.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 10

E!en or Helen?

My father knew my grandmother as Ellen and yet it is possible that her parents knew her as Helen and in her journey home this became abbreviated to Ellen. My mother and father had intended to call me Ellen and had told a pregnant neighbour about their choice of name. The neighbour had liked the name and so when their daughter was born before me the neighbour had used it. My parents therefore decided to use Helen instead. Fate may have meant that may parents succeeded in naming me after my grandmother who started life as Helen and became Ellen whereas I was planned to be Ellen but became Helen.

More Ankers

My investigations lead me to Liverpool University Library to see if there were any records from the Anchor Line about this voyage. Cunard purchased the Anchor Line and all of its records subsequently added to the collection at Liverpool University. I contacted the research department there and whilst they could find no useful records one more coincidence arose. The researcher, who had only started at the library the week before was called Katie Ankers! She doesn’t know if she has any Staffordshire connections but this story is so strange that you never know.

Genes Reunited

My research so far had concentrated on using Ancestry.co.uk and whilst I had visited the GenesReunited site the searches did not offer any new information. However on 10 November 2008 I uploaded my family tree to see if there were any matches with other family trees. This has produced a number of new leads including

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 11

significant matches for three trees with Ankers in it, two trees with Pessol in it and one tree with Boote in it. None have much detail on Thomas and Martha but from my initial contacts with these leads I have identified Margaret Thom, one of the other tree owners as third cousin once removed.

My research moved on. I had found out a lot about my grandmother but there didn’t seem to be many new places to search. I had also made contact with some other third cousins from the Scottish side which offered an new and challenging branch to investigate. I wrote up the initial version of this document, put it on the web and put the search to one side.

You Have Mail!

In the August 2010, two years after my original trip to Stafford my family returned home from a weekend away. My husband was flicking through the pile of post and one caught his attention, he opened it, read a little, then sat me down and then started read it aloud from the beginning:

“Dear Helen,

I am writing in response to the genealogical research into your grandmother’s life in the capacity of being a distant relative.

Several days ago I decided it was time again to ‘google’ the name ‘Pessol’, to update myself on what’s new with the family history in general. I’ve been too busy to do this for a few years and I discovered your site quite by chance. My late mother, Mavis Tinsley (nee Boote), was E!en’s first cousin, and they a! lived together as a complete family at 1, Dixon’s Row, Chesterton. E!en (your grandmother, known as Ne!ie) was brought back to England on behest of her own grandmother, Sarah Ann Pessol. She was ‘shipped’ back when E!en’s parents sadly died of a mysterious infection, possibly typhoid. My mother, therefore, was lucky to be brought up with Ne!ie who was like a glamourous older sister to her.”

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 12

At this point my husband had to stop reading as I was in tears, a couple of tissues later he continued ...

“You can only imagine my delight at finding this wealth of precious information on a part of my family that I had thought had disappeared altogether, since we never knew what happened to baby James Paul, who was adored by the family. I can only give you my heartfelt thanks for giving this information to the world.

Having spent much of the last few days trying to find a contact for you, I decided that asking Lynn Sharples at the cemetery office was my only reasonable chance of success. She kindly offered to forward my letter to you, so I am indebted also to her.

If you would like to contact me [...] please feel ,ee: I would be delighted. I have some information about the family and, while some of it wi! be hearsay, most of it wi! be true. There are a few photos which you may find interesting, too. In the meantime I wi! try to find whatever I can loca!y. I am also in contact with Ivan Boote’s daughter, my cousin Gi!ian. Between us we make it our business to know everything that went on, as a! good women should!

I look forward to hearing ,om you.

P.S. The photo I have of E!en certainly seems to confirm the glamour part of the story.

Yours Sincerely

Sue Wa!ey”

Wow! a photo, a relation and confirmation of much of what we had discovered. It also meant that there was the possibility of more information or at least more oral history. It took a day to brace myself before responding by e-mail but the following weekend having exchanged a few e-mails we were heading up to Newcastle for Sunday lunch with my ‘new’ relative - Sue Walley - my second cousin once removed!

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 13

Sunday Lunch

Our trip up to Newcastle was a huge success - we met Sue, her husband Nigel and daughter Jayne (we subsequently also met her son Robert). She told us more about her mothers ‘glamourous older sister’ who was always beautifully presented, used ‘4711’ eau de cologne and decorated the home with cushions and nice drapes.

Sue also gave me three photographs, one of my great great grandmother Sarah Ann Pessol, my father as a baby James Kinloch Paul and the ultimate reward a photo of my grandmother Ellen Ankers.

I then had the unusual task of showing my father a picture of his mother for the very first time. He said it wasn’t what he had expected her to look like but then it must be very difficult to imagine someone you only knew as a small child does look like.

Dad Passes Away

In February 2012 my father, James Kinloch Paul, passed away almost exactly four years to the day after my mother. They had been married for 50 years and watched both me and my two children grow up.

I was able to show him a picture of his mother and will use some of the money he left me for some more research and possibly a trip to Colorado and New Mexico where I am sure more of the answers I am looking for will be found.

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 14

More Questions Than Answers

I am amazed about how much I have been able to discover about my grandmother but I still want to know more. The questions I would like to answer include:

• Where in Colorado/New Mexico did the the family live?

• Did Thomas Ankers wait in New York for Martha Lilian Ankers to arrive or did she travel to meet him alone?

• When and where was Ellen Ankers born?

• When, where and how did Thomas Ankers die (was it Typhoid or something else) ?

• When, where and how did Martha Lilian Ankers die (was it Typhoid or something else)?

• How was Sarah Ann Pessol able to arrange Ellen Ankers repatriation to England?

• Why did Ellen Ankers go on to Glasgow and who met her there?

• Why did the Ankers decide to go to Brodhead, Colorado?

• Did the Ankers have any more children and if so what happened to them?

• When did James Kinloch Paul arrive in the Chesterton area?

• I would also like to discover more about the Blairs and their relationship to the Ankers and why they travelled to Colorado

Can You Help ?

If you think you can help with any of these questions then please:

• E-Mail us at: familytree@venexia.com

• Contact me via Ancestry.Com: helenwalker138

• Telephone 0118 321 5930 from within the UK and leave a message for Helen Walker

• Telephone +44 118 321 5930 from outside the UK and leave a message for Helen Walker

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 15

The Timeline

Entires in the timeline relate to documented events

Date Event

24 Dec 1909 Thomas Ankers marries Martha Lilian Pessol

4 Sep 1910 - 13 Sep 1910 Thomas Ankers sails on the Carmania from Liverpool to New York

28 Oct 1910 - 3 Nov 1910 Martha Lillian Ankers sails from Liverpool to New York on the Mauritania

24 Dec 1910 - 16 Jul 1911 Possible Birth of Ellen Ankers

10 Mar 1911 - 16 Jul 1911 Probable Birth of Ellen Ankers

10 Mar 1916 - 14 Mar 1916 Helen Ankers (aged 4) sails from New York to Liverpool and Glasgow on the California

17 Mar 1922 - 18 Mar 1937 Caleb Boote known to be living at 1 Dixons Row

17 Mar 1922 - 22 Dec 1925 Edith Boote nee Pessol known to be living at 1 Dixons Row

17 Mar 1922 Ivan Thomas Boote born at 1 Dixons Row

7 Dec 1925 Mavis Boote born at 1 Dixons Row

1 Jun 1926 Thomas Pessol of 1 Dixons Row dies

5 Jun 1926 Thomas Pessol buried at Chesterton Cemetery

23 Dec 1932 Ellen Ankers living at 1 Dixons Row

24 Dec 1932 Ellen Ankers marries James Kinlock Paul and moves to 19 Apedale Road

26 Oct 1933 James Kinlock Paul born at 1 Dixons Row

17 Jul 1936 Ellen Paul nee Ankers dies at Apedale Offices, Chesterton

20 Jul 1936 Ellen Paul nee Ankers buried at Chesterton Cemetery

8 Mar 1937 Sarah Ann Pessol nee Mould of 1 Dixons Row dies

11 Mar 1937 Sarah Ann Pessol nee Mould is buried at Chesterton Cemetery

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 16

App

endi

ces

BMD

Cer

tifica

tes

Bir

th C

erti

ficat

es

Registration  

District

Date  of  

Birth

Place  of  Birth

Nam

eGender

Nam

e  of  

Father

Nam

e  of  

Mother

Maiden  Nam

e  of  Mother

Occupation  of  FatherAddress  of  Father

Nam

e  of  

Informant

Address  of  InformantDate  of  

Registration

Wolstanton  

Staffordshire

26  

Oct

1933

1  Dixons  Row  

Chesterton  

James  

Kinloch  Paul

Male

James  

Kinloch  Paul

Ellen  Paul  Ankers

Acetylene  Welder  

(Dismantling)

19  Apedale  Road  

Chesterton  

Ellen  Paul

(Mother)

19  Apedale  Road  

Chesterton  

4 Dec

1933

Mar

riag

e C

erti

ficat

es

Registration  District

Date  of

Marriage  

Place  of  Marriage  

Person

Nam

eAge

Condition  

Rank  or  Profession  

Residence

Fathers  N

ame

Rank  or

Profession  

of  father

Wolstanton  Staffordshire

25  

Dec

1909

Knutton  Parish

Church

Male

Thom

as  Ankers

20Bachelor

Miner

Knutton

George  Ankers

Miner

Wolstanton  Staffordshire

25  

Dec

1909

Knutton  Parish

Church

Female

Martha  Lilian

Pessol

23Spinster

None

Knutton

Thom

as  Pessol

Miner

Stoke  and

Wolstanton  Staffordshire

24  

Dec

1932

Registry  OfWice

Male

James  Kinloch

Paul

27Bachelor

Acetylene  Welder

19  Apedale  Road  

Chesterton

James  Kinloch

Paul

Acetylene  

Burner

Stoke  and

Wolstanton  Staffordshire

24  

Dec

1932

Registry  OfWice

Female

Ellen  Ankers

21Spinster

RooWing  Tile

Presser

1  Dixons  Row

Apedale  Road,  

Chesterton

Thom

as  Ankers

(Deceased)

Coal  Hewer

Dea

th C

erti

ficat

es

Registration  District

Date  of

Death

Place  of  Death

Nam

eGender

Age

Occupation

Cause  of  Death

Nam

e  of

Informant

Description  of

Informant

Residence  of  

Informant

Date  of

Registration

Wolstanton  

Staffordshire

1   Jun

1926

1  Dixons  Row  

Apedale

Thom

as  Pessol

Male

77Coal  miner

(hewer)

1  Senile  decay

2  Myocarditis

Caleb  Boote

Son-­‐in-­‐Law

1  Dixons  Row

Apedale

1   Jun  

1926

Wolstanton  

Staffordshire

17  

Jul

1936

Apedale  OfWices

Chesterton

Ellen  Paul

Female

25Wife  of  Jam

esKinloch  Paul  

Dismantling

Companies

Foreman

1(a)  Hepatic  Carcinoma

1(b)  Gastric  Carcinoma

James  Kinloch

Paul

Widower  of

deceased

Apedale  OfWices  

Chesterton

18  

Jul  

1936

Wolstanton

Staffordshire

8   Mar

1937

1  Dixons  Row

Apedale

Sarah  Ann  Pessol

Female

85Widow  of  

Thom

as  Pessol  

(coal  hewer)

1(a)  Myocarditis  

1(b)  Osterio  Sclerosis

2  Senility

Caleb  Boote

Son-­‐in-­‐Law

1  Dixons  Row

Apedale

9   Mar  

1937

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 17

Ship

Man

ifests

UK

Imm

igra

tion

& E

mig

rati

on M

anif

ests

Ship

Sailing  From

Sailing  To

Date

Ticket  Num

berClass

Nam

eAge

Gender

Occupation

Nationality  and  

Race

Destination

Carmania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  USA6  Sep  191028188

3rd

Thom

as  

Ankers

20Male

Miner

English

New  York

Carmania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  USA6  Sep  191028188

3rd

James  Blair

31Male

Miner

English

New  York

Mauritania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  USA29  Oct  

1910

28910

3rd

Martha  L  

Ankers

24Female

Wife

English

New  York

California

New  York  USA

Glasgow  

Scotland

11  Mar  

1916

3rd

Helen  Ankers4

Female

None

USA

Chesterton

US

Imm

igra

tion

Man

ifes

ts

Ship

Sailing  

From

Sailing  ToDate

Ticket  

Num

ber

Nam

eAge

Gender

Marital  

Status

Occupation

Literate

Nationality  

and  Race

Last  

Permanent  

Residence

Next  of  Kin

Destination

Campania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

21  

Sep  

1907

William  

Clarke

53Male

Married

US  Citizen

Campania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

21  

Sep  

1907

Mary

Clarke

54Female

Married

US  Citizen

Campania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

21  

Sep  

1907

Ethel

Clarke

15Female

Single

US  Citizen

Campania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

21  

Sep  

1907

Howard  

Clarke

11Male

Single

US  Citizen

Carmania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

6   Sep  

1910

28188

Thom

as  

Ankers

20Male

Married

Miner

Yes

England  

English

Chesterton  

England

Wife  

Mrs.  Ankers  

7  Cooper  St

Chesterton

Staffs

Brodhead  

Colorado

Carmania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

6   Sep  

1910

28188

James  Blair31

Male

Single  (?)Miner

Yes

England  

English

Chesterton  

England

Mother  

Mrs.  Blair

51  Mount  

Skip

Chesterton  

Staffs

Brodhead  

Colorado

Mauritania

Liverpool  

England

New  York  

USA

29  

Oct  

1910

18190

Martha  L

Ankers

24Female

Married

Housewife

Yes

England  

English

Chesterton  

England

Mother

Mrs.  Pessol

7  High  Street  

Knutton  

Newcastle  

Staffs

Brodhead  

Colorado

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 18

The UK Immigration Record For Helen Ankers

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 19

Resources & Bibliography

Photo Credits

The photos in this document have come from various sources as outlined below. Photos are credited left to right, top to bottom.

Page 1

• Apedale Brickhttp://www.penmorfa.com/bricks/apedale.jpg

• Apedale Pit Wheel (Flickr, Charlie Owen, March 2010)http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3662/4557293901_06d95a536d_z.jpg

• Watermills Chimney, Apedale (Flickr, Martn Wright, March 2011)http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5053/5494841442_64a4fd7091_z.jpg

• J.K. Paul & Co Demolitions c.1950Family photograph

Page 2

• Apedale Road c. 1910http://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=4323

• Front of Dixons Row c. 1959Staffordshire Library

• Rear of Dixons Row c. 1959Staffordshire Library

Page 3

• Staffordshire Map c.1848http://www.heatons-of-tisbury.co.uk/images/maps/lewissatffs.jpg

• Apedale or Minnie Pit Rescue Team 1918http://www.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/nof_website1/local_history_static_exhibitions/industrial_sites/industrial_sites_images/apedale.jpg

• Apedale Colliery, The Burley Pit c.1900http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/exhibit/coal/images/collieries/burley-pit-apedale-colliery.jpg

Page 4

• Grave marker of Thomas & Sarah Ann Pessol and Ellen AnkersFamily Photograph

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 20

Page 5

• RMS Mauritania c.1907http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/mauretania/01_mauretania_1907_tyne.JPG

• SS Carmaniahttp://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=2212

• Cunard Postcard of SS Mauritania arriving in New Yorkhttp://www.kirchgraber.name/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ss_mauritania2.jpg

Page 6

• Google Maps, Brodhead Canyon, Cohttp://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=brodhead+co&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl

• Aguilar Colorado c. 1910http://www.trinidadco.com/Main-Photos/Aguilar/WaterTankPhoto.jpg

• Carnegie Library, Trinidad, Co. Build 1904http://www.trinidadco.com/WalkingTour/Photos/carnegie2.jpg

• Luigi Gianella Building, Aguilar State Bank, 1912http://coloradopreservation.org/programs/endangered-places/endangered-places-archives/gianella-building/

Page 7

• Aftermath of the Ludlow Massacrehttp://libcom.org/files/ludlow-camp-attacked.jpg

• Influenza Center 1918http://designyoutrust.com/2009/04/28/influenza-pandemic-worlds-history-1918/

• SS Californiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S.S._California

Page 8

• SS California in New York Harbourhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/SS_California_(1907).jpg/300px-SS_California_(1907).jpg

• Liverpool Harbour 1920http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1355388/Britains-iconic-landmarks-90-years-development-seen-air.html

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 21

• Jamaica Bridge Glasgow 1918http://www.smythe.id.au/lestweforget/ch16.htm

• Anchor Line Passenger List 1903http://www.gjenvick.com/images/AnchorLine/1903-08-08/PassengerList-Columbia-SecondClass-FrontCover-250.jpg

• SS Californiahttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~knappdb/ships_C.htm

Page 9

• Dixons Row TodayFamily photograph

• Apedale Road TodayFamily photograph

Page 10

• Helen WalkerFamily photograph

• Liverpool University Libraryhttp://copac.ac.uk/libraries/liverpool.html

• DNA strandhttp://photo-dictionary.com/photofiles/list/644/1052DNA.jpg

Page 11

• Venexia & David WalkerFamily Photograph

• Helen & Alex WalkerFamily Photograph

• Letter and Envelopehttp://www.mcdodesign.com/downloads/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Letter512px.png

Page 12

• Sarah Ann PessolFamily photograph with very special thanks to Sue Walley

• Ellen AnkersFamily photograph with very special thanks to Sue Walley

• James Kinloch Paul as a babyFamily photograph with very special thanks to Sue Walley

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 22

Page 13

• Default Photo

• 4711http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/4711_Eau_de_Cologne_(logo).jpg

• Sheila, James & Helen Paul c. 1968Family photograph

• James Kinlock Paul (grandfather) with his son James Kinloch Paul (father)Family photograph

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 23

Web Resources

Genealogy Tools

The Generations Network run by the Church of The Later Day Saints

• http://www.ancestry.co.uk

• http://www.ancestry.com

• http://www.rootsweb.com

• http://www.familytreemaker.com

Find My Past

• http://www.findmypast.com

Genes Reunited

• http://www.genesreunited.co.uk

UK Research Sites

National Archives of the United Kingdom

• http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry: Staffordshire Births, Marriages & Deaths

• http://www.bmsgh.org/

GenUKI: Staffordshire Genealogy

• http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/STS/

US Research Sites

Ellis Island, New York

• http://www.ellisisland.org/

Apishapa Valley Historical Society

• http://aguilarhistory.com/

Colorado Geological Survey – History of Mining

• http://www.geosurvey.state.co.us/Default.aspx?tabid=237

Colorado State Archives

• http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/

US Gen Web Archives – Colorado – Las Animas - Broadhead

• http://files.usgwarchives.org/co/lasanimas/directories/1911-brodhead.txt

In Search Of Ellen Ankers ©  2008  -­‐  2012  Helen  J  Walker! 24

New Mexico State Archives

• http://www.nmcpr.state.nm.us/archives/gencat_cover.htm

GenDisasters.com

• http://www.gendisasters.com

US Mine Rescue Association

• http://www.usmra.com

Other Resources

The  Apedale  Heritage  Centre   Loomer  Road,  Chesterton,  Newcastle-­‐under-­‐Lyme,  Staffordshire,  ST5  7RR

The  Newcastle-­‐under-­‐Lyme  Cemetery  OfWice   Lymewood  Grove,  Newcastle-­‐under-­‐Lyme,  Staffordshire,  ST5  2EH

Staffordshire  Records  OfWice   Eastgate  Street,  Stafford,  ST16  2LZ

Newcastle-­‐under-­‐Lyme  Library,  Staffordshire  Library  Service   The  Ironmarket  Newcastle  ST5  1AT

Bibliography

The  History  of  the  Brick  and  Tile  Yards  of  Newcastle-­‐under-­‐Lyme   Gordon  Howle;  Newcastle  Instant  Print  2008

Collieries  in  the  North  Staffordshire  CoalWield   Paul  Deakin;  ISBN  1-­‐84306-­‐138-­‐4

A  History  Of  Apedale  And  Chesterton   David  Dyble;  ISBN  0-­‐95421-­‐990-­‐2